curb your enthusiasm

If you're sitting there with an uncomfortable feeling sitting in the pit of your stomach, then you know Larry David is back. In the Season 8 premiere of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' (Sun., 10PM ET on HBO), David found himself in one of the most awkward positions any man could be in.

A girl scout arrived selling cookies, and then realized she had just started her first-ever period. This isn't Larry's daughter. He has no woman in the house anymore. To his credit, Larry tried to do the right thing, and he did have tampons on hand at least.

We can't imagine a more traumatic first time for any young girl than having Larry David outside the bathroom door trying to explain to you how to use a tampon. As we usually see on 'Curb,' Larry's good intentions spiraled out of control and left him in his usual quagmire of self-induced misery.

Wednesday, Regis Philbin fulfilled a long-held dream when Larry David appeared on 'Live With Regis and Kelly' (weekdays, syndicated). Regis was still gushing about the experience Thursday, so much so that Kelly Ripa called him out on his man-crush.

"I admire his writing ability and his comedic ability," said Philbin. "No," Ripa admonished. "You're in love with him." Philbin said David was great and that maybe he had a little crush, but Ripa wouldn't budge, saying, "No, you're crushing on him. You have a crush." Philbin explained that these things sometimes happen to men.

Hello, Larry! We've missed the antics of Larry David and his 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' pals, but our lives will be Larry-less no more, as the eighth season of 'Curb' kicks off this weekend (Sun., July 10, 10PM ET on HBO).

Regis Philbin has been trying, unsuccessfully, to get Larry David to appear on 'Live With Regis and Kelly' (weekdays, syndicated) for years. He finally got his wish today, but Regis, always one to take things personally, insisted on airing his grievances with David anyway. Regis played a montage of himself pleading with David to appear on the show, and also recounted a joke Larry played on him, when he showed up at Regis's building and asked the doorman to tell him that he'd been there, but that he didn't ask for Regis.

"Now that's cruel torture," Regis said to David. He grabbed David's arm dramatically. "'Tell him I didn't ask for him,' that's the line that killed me," he said.

"Can't you take a joke?" said David. "It was a joke." It was a playful, awkward exchange, and all was forgiven when Philbin pulled David close and planted a big kiss on his bald noggin, the type of happy ending you're not likely to see on the new season of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' which premieres Sunday night on HBO.

Television is a funny thing. When you've been watching it all your life, it not only takes on a habitual role, it can also become extremely personal. Everyone has "their shows" -- the shows they watch religiously, the shows for which DVR isn't an option, the shows they try to talk their significant others into liking, the shows that force them to ream out a blogger for merely suggesting that "maybe the show is slipping," ignoring the fact that the blogger really likes the show too, and if they could just meet face to face they would see that there's no need to call him that.

Taking that into account, it can be depressing, quite frankly, when the summer months arrive and all those shows we've been manipulating our schedules around are gone. But it doesn't necessarily have to be. The summer is an opportunity to leave that televisual comfort zone that we've spent so many years cultivating and seek new shows to add to our socially acceptable obsession. Here's a shortlist of shows premiering this summer that should be a cure for the "where's my show" blues.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

Who don't we see? Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), for one. Of course last season ended with the two of them reuniting ... and then Cheryl instantly remembering why she left him in the first place. (Damn you Julia Louis-Dreyfus and your water-ringed furniture!)

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

According to TVGuide.com, Fox will play himself in Episode 10, in which 'Curb' uses Fox's real-life battle with Parkinson's Disease as a comedic plot device. "Larry moves to New York and takes the apartment below ours," says Fox.

The famously irascible Larry then believes that Fox is "being symptomatic just to annoy him -- a whole passive-aggressive thing. He's complaining because I'm shuffling and making noise upstairs. It's very funny."

Cheryl went to the beach, accompanied by a group of female friends. Here's a quick list of what their trip involved:

1) Tequila shots.2) Semi-naked 'Slip 'n Slide.'3) Skinny-dipping.4) Eating at a restaurant with two naked girls, whose breasts were only covered with "corn tortillas." (A nice touch, in that it's kind of a nod to Mexican cuisine.)

Who will win: This is where the Academy will pay tribute to the 'Glee' mania that gripped the country in 2009-10. It's hard to say whether the show actually deserves the award, since it was so maddeningly inconsistent in it's inaugural season. But when the show was at its best, it gave audiences rousing moments of comedy and drama, and of song and dance, that sparked a new interest in school music programs and put musical theatre in a spotlight it hasn't been in for at least three decades. For its cultural impact alone, it'll likely get the award.

Who will win: There are three two previous winners in this category (four, if you count David's Comedy Series win for 'Seinfeld,') so there are lots of places the Academy can go if they want to play it safe. I can see them giving it to Alec Baldwin again, even though '30 Rock' didn't have the strongest season, though Shalhoub might get the votes as a tribute to the end of 'Monk''s long run. But the Academy loves the fact that they can give a comedy award to a guy who is still thought of in some circles as a dramatic actor. So Baldwin will take it.

Are you ready for all the dry, snarky humor you can handle? Because with 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' episodes airing on TV Guide Network every Wednesday and Thursday at 10PM ET/PT, that's exactly what you'll get!

And at 9:30PM ET tonight (Wed., June 16), Richard Lewis, who had a recurring role on the HBO series, will host a live chat on USTREAM. The wild comedian will answer questions and give a preview of TVGN's post-show panel 'Curb: The Discussion,' hosted by Susie Essman.